A Shichinintai Christmas Carol
by Netsugaki-Sama
Summary: Renkotsu, as Mr. Scrooge, cancels Christmas Holidays for all his workers, and then is visited by some ghosts to be set straight.


1

Deep within the sanctity of the large office room of his company building, Mr. Renkotsu was busy filing old papers and taking notes on all the money that his company had earned for the year. But for some reason he had come up short. He was missing a few hundred dollars. "Bah," he said with a frustrated growl, crumpling some of the papers and notes up into little balls, "humbug! What's this then? Where's all me money at?" He rose up from his seat and walked out to the main foyer of the building. The other employees were busy preparing to leave for the Christmas holidays, which were a few mere hours away. He stopped one of the employees just as he was approaching the front doors. "An' where do you think you're goin'?" he asked sternly.

"Why," the employee, Mr. Dickens, stuttered, "We're all leavin' for the 'olidays. I'm gonna buy a nice turkey for me supper. An' me sister's stayin' with us; she's a sweet ol' thing, she is." He offered a smile and continued to move towards the doors, but Renkotsu stopped him. He was not impressed, not at all. There could not be a holiday this year, not will all the missing profits and money. Christmas holidays would have to be put off this year to make up for the lost money. Hopefully then, some decent work could be done and the profits could return.

"There ain't gonna be no Christmas 'olidays this year," Renkotsu said with a rather mean look on his face. "We're behind on our profits, an' I need 'em to be in tiptop shape." Mr. Dickens looked questioningly at him; he could not believe what he was hearing. "Me word," Renkotsu continued, still with that mean look on his face, "is final."

Mr. Dickens was flabbergasted. No Christmas? That could not be. "But sir," he tried to say, but Renkotsu interrupted him.

"I said me word is final!" He looked around at all the employees that were standing around him. "There ain't gonna be no 'olidays this year, so the whole lot of ya, get back to work!" Not a person moved. "Do you think I'm jokin'? Get movin'!" And with that, he returned to his large office room, slamming the door.

2

Renkotsu returned home after the long workday very frustrated and angry. Later that evening, he was busy proofreading some of his files and documents, hoping that he had simply made a mistake somewhere before, but unfortunately no such luck. He then decided that he should just get some sleep and worry about it in the morning. So he got dressed in his pajamas and headed off for bed. His bed was large, even taking up a lot of space in his already massive bedroom. He lifted the covers and slipped in. He closed his eyes, but could not fall asleep. It was the missing money that was doing this to him. Or was it? He could have sworn that he heard the sounds of chains clashing together. No, that wasn't right. He was just tired. That was all.

"Renkotsu..." a chilling voice called from what seemed to be everywhere.

He sat up with a jolt. "Who's there?" he stuttered. No answer. He lay back down and closed his eyes again. 'It was the wind,' he thought. 'Just the wind.'

"You're treatin' your employees unfairly, Renkotsu," the chilling voice from everywhere spoke again.

Now he was scared. He leapt out of his bed and dashed over to the bedroom door, locking it. He then ran back to the massive bed and slipped back under the covers, hiding under them. The sounds of the chains came back and were louder than before. He summed up enough courage to peek out from underneath the covers and saw a strange glowing object hovering at the foot of his bed. He noticed it was the shape of a man, with chains wrapped around it and dangling from its arms and legs.

"Ginkotsu?" Renkotsu whispered. This strange glowing figure was the spitting image of Ginkotsu, his old business partner from years ago. But it could not be him; he had died a while ago.

But it _was_ Ginkotsu. He had returned from the grave to speak with his old business partner. "You're treatin' them very poorly," he warned his living friend, "An' if you don't shape up an' let 'em 'ave their 'olidays, you'll be sorry. Gishi!"

"Why?" Renkotsu squeaked from under the covers, "Why must they 'ave their 'olidays? They're just a bloody waste of time, they is!"

Ginkotsu shook his glowing white head. "You 'aven't learned the true meanin' o' the Christmas 'olidays yet, 'ave you then? Gishi, I shall 'ave to ask some o' me friends to 'elp me straighten you up." He raised his ghostly hand and held up three fingers. "Three ghosts shall visit you tonight. They'll learn ya. Gishi!" And with that, Ginkotsu had vanished.

Renkotsu stared blankly at where Ginkotsu had just been floating for a few minutes, then got up and looked around where he had been floating. Nothing. 'It was an 'allucination,' he thought. 'I'm workin' too 'ard.' Then he crawled back into his bed, still shaking a little bit, and pulled the covers up over his head. He went to sleep.

3

The great grandfather clock chimed the sound of midnight. The sound roused Renkotsu from his sleep with a startle. He looked cautiously around the darkly lit room, half expecting to see some sort of ghostly figure. He saw nothing, and remembered that it was just a dream. There were no ghosts. There would not be any ghosts. It was just him, alone in his mansion. "Bah," he grunted, "humbug." And with that, he went back to sleep, snoring loudly.

"You know," a voice said to him from the darkness of his room, "I can help you with that snoring problem."

Renkotsu bolted upright and frantically searched the room with his eyes for the intruder. But he could see nothing in the darkness. "Wh-who's there?" he stuttered. No answer came to him. He moved as if to dismount from the bed when he saw the figure of a man in the corner of his eye. He shrieked and hid back under the covers. "Wh-who...?"

"My name is Suikotsu," the voice, belonging to the man in the darkness, said. "I am the ghost of Christmas Past."

Renkotsu came out from the covers with a smirk on his face. "Lemme guess," he said, "You're gonna show me past to me."

Suikotsu laughed. "Yes, and I can also give you a prescription for a tonic that can help you with your little hair problem."

Renkotsu placed his hand on his bald head, then put it back by his side, still sitting on the bed. "Very bloody funny," he growled angrily.

"Well," Suikotsu said, "lets get going then." He walked over to massive window of Renkotsu's room and opened it. He stepped out onto the ledge and motioned for Renkotsu to follow him with his hand. But Renkotsu stayed put.

"You're not serious," he said. "I'm not goin' out there! It's bloody freezin'!"

Suikotsu sighed. "Ginkotsu said this would be tough." He leapt back into the room and walked over to Renkotsu's bed. He grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the window. "You are coming with me," he said, "whether you want to or not."

"I say!" Renkotsu yelled. "Let go of me!" But it was already too late. They had gone out of the window and were flying in mid air. Renkotsu started screaming, but Suikotsu told him to calm down. 'This is a dream,' Renkotsu thought, 'just a bloody dream!'

"Well," Suikotsu smiled, "that is only half true."

'Great, he can read me thoughts.' Renkotsu sighed. "So where're you takin' me anyways?"

"You should know," was Suikotsu's response.

They arrived at a familiar looking schoolyard. It was Renkotsu's old school, the one he went to when he was just a lad. He looked around and remembered almost every little detail that he saw. Almost every inch of this place brought back an old memory of when he came here. Then he saw the familiar looking couple sitting in the field. 'That's me,' he thought.

"And do you remember who the girl is?" Suikotsu asked. Renkotsu shook his head. "Lets go in for a closer look then." And they landed down on the cool wet grass of the field, just behind the young couple. They were unnoticed. However, what Renkotsu did notice was that the girl was crying. She handed the younger him a ring and uttered something about money not being important.

'Right,' Renkotsu thought, 'She's me ol' girlfriend, Cindy Lou.' He looked at the sad expression on her face and felt a little sad himself. Did he really do that to her: make her feel so sad? Did he really make her give that ring back?

"Do you understand now?" Suikotsu asked. But Renkotsu shook his head. Suikotsu sighed. "Well, I tried, Ginkotsu..."

It took a while for Renkotsu to realize that he was back in his own comfy bed. 'That must 'ave been a dream,' he thought. 'Boy, that's the last time I eat Mexican food before I go to bed.' But, if it had not been a dream, then would there be more ghosts? He shook the thought away. No, of course not. He closed his eyes and lay back down and went back to sleep.

4

The great grandfather clock chimed one o'clock. Renkotsu heard the chime, but only in a state of haze. It was the giggling that had actually woken him up this time. He sat up and looked around. "Ghost?" he asked. "Is that you?" More giggling was his answer. "Now see here, you!" he called out. "Just let me alone!" Then the ghost appeared right at the foot of his bed. It was still giggling. "An' just what is so funny?" Renkotsu growled.

"Yer funny lookin'," the giggling ghost said. "My name's Jakotsu, the ghost of Christmas Presents."

"Don't you mean "Christmas _Present_"?" Renkotsu corrected.

Jakotsu shrugged. "Anyways," he continued, "I've come here to show ya what yer doin' to all yer employees." He grabbed Renkotsu's arm and dragged him out the window like the first ghost. He took him to a house just down the street from where he lived in his big mansion. It was a small house, pretty sad looking really. The shingles on the roof had started to fall off, the windows had cracks in them and the door and all the other wooden things seemed to be rotting away. It was the house of a very poor man.

They peered into the window and got a good look at the people living within it. "Oh," Renkotsu said with surprise, "That's the chap I met earlier on. The one with the sister." The family was sitting around a sad looking table with very few scraps of food on it.

"They don't have much of a dinner," Jakotsu said, the happy-go-lucky smile fading from his face.

"Bah," Renkotsu muttered, "humbug." He did not care about this worker whatsoever. Even though he and his family were starving, and it was Christmas, the time of giving... He sighed. "Take me back 'ome."

But the ghost shook his head. "Don'cha see what yer doin' to these poor people? They all used to love the holiday season, but now they're all miserable because ya took it away from 'em!"

A smile crept its way across Renkotsu's face. "All that means," he said in a toneless voice, "is more money for me."

Jakotsu let out a frustrated growl. "How could anyone be so heartless?" he exclaimed.

'The chap's right,' Renkotsu thought. 'These people should 'ave a 'oliday. Look at 'ow un'appy they is...' He put his hands up against the window and peered in one last time. His breath fogged up the window and he pulled back. "Take me back 'ome right now," he ordered.

Jakotsu folded his arms in front of his chest. "Ya didn't learn anything from this, did'ja?" Renkotsu shook his head. "Fine." He snapped his fingers, and Renkotsu bolted upright in his soft warm comfy bed yet again.

5

Renkotsu was lying in his bed, but he was not sleeping. The visions of his crying girlfriend and that poor starving family were still vivid in his mind. But what did it all mean? Why was it happening to him? All that he wanted was his missing profits. "An'" he muttered to himself, "me sleep." He closed his eyes again and tried to get back to sleep.

The great grandfather clock chimed, but he did not wake. He felt no presences, and figured that the whole thing must have been just some weird dream. A few minutes passed, and still nothing. But then he started to hear noises: scuttling of feet or something. He decided it best not to get up and just continue to sleep. But the third ghost had already appeared. It was draped in a black cloak, holding a scythe. Its face could not be seen, only its bony hands. Renkotsu got a glimpse at the ghost and immediately hid underneath the covers. 'It's not real,' he thought. 'It's not!'

The ghost of Christmas Yet To Come motioned for Renkotsu to come with it. He obeyed for fear of his life. It introduced itself to him as Bankotsu and the two of them went out the window as if it were routine. Bankotsu took Renkotsu to the town graveyard.

"What are we doin' here, spirit?" he asked. No answer.

They walked along the tombstones for a while until finally they stopped at one particularly bad shaped one. Bankotsu pointed to it. Renkotsu could not make out the words from where he was standing, so he knelt down and crawled over to it to get a better look. He gasped at what was written on it: Here lies Renkotsu, second Scrooge of the world.

"But surely," he exclaimed, "Surely somebody misses me. The workers? Me friends?" What friends? He had none. Renkotsu broke down and started to sob. "I get it now!" he said in between tears. "The spirit o' the 'olidays is people bein' together with loved ones!"

Bankotsu nodded.

"I," Renkotsu stuttered, "I must let them 'ave their 'oliday! The 'ole lot o' 'em! I-I'll go out and get 'em a nice turkey, with all o' the fixin's!"

6

He bolted upright in his bed. That great grandfather clock struck six o'clock in the morning. The sun had already begun to rise and people had already begun to go outside and play in the fresh snow. He dashed to his window and opened it up. He saw a young lad playing by his front gate. "You there," he called out, "What day is this?"

"Today?" the boy asked, "Why, sir, it's Chirstmas day!"

"Oh," Renkotsu muttered. "Suppose I shoulda known that." He got dressed in record speed and dashed out to the local butcher shop. He bought a nice turkey with all o' the fixin's and took it to Mr. Dickens' house. He knocked on the door and was greeted by the missus.

"'Allo, Mr. Scrooge, sir," she said. "I mean, Mr. Renkotsu, sir."

"Merry Christmas!" Renkotsu exclaimed cheerfully. "I've brought you this nice turkey for your dinner!"

"Oh," the missus gasped with delight, "Why thank you, Mr. Renkotsu, sir! Does this mean our 'olidays are back on then?"

"Of course!" Renkotsu said, full of Christmas cheer.

"Won't you join us?" the missus offered with a smile. Renkotsu nodded vigorously and she led him into the house. He and their entire family celebrated Christmas together.

Meanwhile, Ginkotsu, Suikotsu, Jakotsu and Bankotsu were watching over the whole scene. "Gishi!" Ginkotsu cried, "You guys did great!"

"Well," Suikotsu said, "Bankotsu was the one who finally clued him in."

"Scared the bajesus outta him!" Jakotsu laughed. Bankotsu nodded.

"Well," Ginkotsu continued, "I 'ope he knows what to do for next year."

"Ya," Jakotsu sighed. "I'm startin' to get kinda tired of havin' to do this for him _every bloody year_..."

_**THE END!**_

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD WIFE!**_


End file.
